UKC

Sorry if it's been asked too many times (I did do a search, but not quite sure still), but I'm looking for summat for me legs that will complement a softshell montane extreme top.
I do a lot of hiking/climbing in the slush zone, I mean I need kit that will cope with getting very wet as well as very cold. I love the Extreme smock because it's insulated enough that lying on snow doesn't melt it and have it soak in, as well as of course the soft shell compromise between breathability and water resistance. Ideally I want trousers the same, although I'm also keen to get some that are at least suitable for cold and wet summer days, when my light trousers will leave me soaked and miserable. I don't know if salopettes will be too warm for this. I'm certainly not interested in the "waterproof" fabrics like GTX etc.
I also wanted to ask about the Buffalo sleeping bag. I understand it's basically applying the concept of softshell to a bag - right? If so, anyone use it, does it work? Being used to VBLs in low temps, is there not a problem with condensation in the tent?
Thanks
Kit

In reply to arctic_hobo:

Mardale look pretty good too.
http://www.mardale.com/alpine_pile.html
http://www.mardale.com/aerolite_alpine.html
http://www.mardale.com/alpine_perf.html

In reply to arctic_hobo: I used Buffalo stuff for years. The salopettes would be hugely too warm in summer. Some find them too warm for walk-ins in winter but for winter climbing I like them.

I used a a Buffalo 4s outer and inner system from the late 80s to the late 90s for hundreds of nights of camping all over the UK and around the world. It is very hard wearing, and getting damp isn't a huge problem for the system but the bags are bulky and heavy.

Presuming you're not putting you head in the VBL(!), frozen condensation inside tents comes almost solely from breathing as far as I know. VBLs stop condensation getting into the insulation of your bag, getting it on the tent isn't a problem beyond the unpleasant morning shower phenomenon when the first person in the tent moves.

In reply to Templeton Adams: Mardale kit does look good. Think I may have to accept different summer and winter trousers (that sounds more obvious than it is written down!), although my summer jaunts tend to be in the cold.

In reply to TobyA:
D'you use the half or full zip salopettes?
Bit confused re bags. I'd always put my head in a VBL - it's mummy shaped. I've always found that winter tents are far wetter without VBL as it's bodily condensation on the walls, as it rises through your bag (some of it condensing there too) and due to the cold, condenses on the cold tent wall which is at or below dew point, whereas in warmer climes, it goes through the fabric or out the vents. In the sort of climates I'm often in, a wet tent is a big problem as it isn't cold enough for it to freeze, and slowly everything gets wet, which apart from making me miserable can make me very cold, and if using a down bag, can endanger sleeping insulation. Fine for a day, not fine for three weeks.
How would you compare the Buffalo bag to a normal one?
Thanks

In reply to arctic_hobo:

Originally had full zips but the zips wore out eventually and I very rarely needed the full zip, so on my second pair I got half zips which are good.


Yes, but I was joking in that if you covered your face you would suffocate. I'm pretty certain you are wrong about the VBL stopping condensation from your body condensing on the tent. You would need a physiology expert to be certain but I expect the amount of moisture vapour you release via breathing through a night compared to the amount you sweat whilst sleeping is something like 100:1.

Buffalo bags are definitely worth considering if you are going to be somewhere where keeping dry is difficult - they were (are?) popular with the military for that reason.

I'm not sure what you think makes the climate that you are in particular special, damp and cool is quite normal across northern Europe. Are you sure its not the tent you are using that is causing the condensation problems?